hedonism (hē`dənĭz'əm) [Gr.,=pleasure], the doctrine that holds that pleasure is the highest good. Ancient hedonism expressed itself in two ways: the cruder form was that proposed by Aristippus Aristippus (ărĭstĭp`əs), c.435–c.360 B.C., Greek philosopher of Cyrene, first of the Cyrenaics .
..... Click the link for more information. and the early Cyrenaics Cyrenaics (sīrĭnā`ĭks, sĭ–)
..... Click the link for more information. , who believed that pleasure was achieved by the complete gratification of all one's sensual desires; on the other hand, Epicurus Epicurus (ĕpĭky
r`əs), 341–270 B.C., Greek philosopher, b.
..... Click the link for more information. and his school, though accepting the primacy of pleasure, tended to equate it with the absence of pain and taught that it could best be attained through the rational control of one's desires. Ancient hedonism was egoistic; modern British hedonism, expressed first in 19th-century utilitarianism utilitarianism (y
..... Click the link for more information. , is universalistic in that it is conceived in a social sense—"the greatest happiness for the greatest number."
hedonism
..... Click the link for more information. and the early Cyrenaics Cyrenaics (sīrĭnā`ĭks, sĭ–)
..... Click the link for more information. , who believed that pleasure was achieved by the complete gratification of all one's sensual desires; on the other hand, Epicurus Epicurus (ĕpĭky
r`əs), 341–270 B.C., Greek philosopher, b...... Click the link for more information. and his school, though accepting the primacy of pleasure, tended to equate it with the absence of pain and taught that it could best be attained through the rational control of one's desires. Ancient hedonism was egoistic; modern British hedonism, expressed first in 19th-century utilitarianism utilitarianism (y
..... Click the link for more information. , is universalistic in that it is conceived in a social sense—"the greatest happiness for the greatest number."
Bibliography
See J. C. Gosling, Pleasure and Desire (1969).
hedonism
Ethics
a. the doctrine that moral value can be defined in terms of pleasure
b. the doctrine that the pursuit of pleasure is the highest good
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